Home
by 10ismydoctor
Summary: "For a moment that morning, in Ianto's little kitchen, they both forgot about Torchwood, aliens and monsters." During a break from saving the world, Jack and Ianto enjoy a moment of normality. Pure and unashamed fluff.


Waking up in a stranger's bed definitely wasn't an uncommon thing for Jack. He had probably done it thousands of times. He lost count a long, long time ago. That's who he was after all. He loved sex. But most of all he loved connections, probably because he didn't particularly enjoy being with himself.

That morning, he wasn't in his bed once again, but he wasn't in a stranger's bed either. Even before opening his eyes he knew exactly where he was, just by the smell of pretty expensive (and classy) aftershave and cologne. It was a smell he could have recognized everywhere, a smell that he had started to feel on his own skin almost a year ago. He was in Ianto's bed.

He kept his eyes closed a little while longer, just breathing in. It felt warm, comfortable, safe..."it feels like home". He snapped his eyes open. That thought hit him like a punch in the stomach. He could not afford to think things like that. He could not afford these kind of feelings. This thing he had with Ianto was becoming more real and more serious every day, and that was terrifying.

When it all started, he just wanted to have some fun. And now...he didn't even know how it happened but it had all become so much more. He had missed him so deeply during the Year That Never Was, and now they were sort of...dating? They had never really discussed what this relationship was, but Jack stopped sleeping around after their first day, and Ianto didn't even have to ask him to! That had to mean something, right?

It was kind of a mess and Jack knew it was all his own fault. He knew he was the one who was scared of committing, but honestly, he had his reasons. Living as long as he had, he knew there was no way any of this could end up well, with their crazy job, the constant danger and..well...the whole immortality issue. He was not gonna pretend he could have a normal, healthy relationship. He was not gonna make that mistake again. But the truth was he just couldn't stop being with Ianto and sometimes he felt a bit like an ass, cause he could see how confusing this was for Ianto and how much he wanted to know what their..."thing" was. Ianto actually never asked anything from him, and Jack never said a word or made any step forward because he just actually had no idea what he was doing.

Before going crazy over this whole thing, he decided to get up and look for his pants. He found them perfectly folded at the foot of the bed. He couldn't help but smile. It was so typically Ianto to take care of his clothes and make sure everything was tidy and neat and perfectly organized. It was hard to believe this was the same man who did all those things last night...Jack lost himself in the pretty impressive and definitely not tidy memories of the night before for a little while before finally putting on his pants and stepping out of the room.

As soon as he opened the door, he heard a familiar voice humming some random traditional songs from the kitchen. He smiled and moved toward it, walking as silently as possible. He knew that the humming would stop immediately if Ianto heard him. It was adorable how shy he could still be sometimes considering how close they had grown, and how...intimate.

Jack leaned against the kitchen door and just stared at that beautiful view in peace for a while. Ianto was in his underwear, wearing a white t-shirt, making pancakes, barefoot, still humming around. Jack couldn't see his face, but he could tell he was smiling. He was so damn cute, no wonder he just couldn't stay away from him. It was all his fault! Jack felt a warm funny feeling in his stomach, a feeling he was scared of recognizing. He slowly moved towards Ianto and put his arms around his waist, his lips tenderly on his cheek, before letting his head rest on his shoulder.

"Good morning, sir," Ianto said, letting himself relax against Jack's body and putting one hand over Jack's.

"Can you please drop the sir? I thought we discussed that already." Jack planted a kiss on his neck.

"Sorry, I know. It's just...the force of habit, I guess." He smirked in that adorable way of his.

Jack's lips were now next to Ianto's ear.

"Turn around," he whispered. It sounded half like a command and half like a plea.

"You are gonna make me burn the pancakes!"

Oh, Jack loved this. He loved when Ianto tried to resist him, cause they both knew it was never ever gonna work and Jack was always gonna win in the end.

"I don't care about pancakes. I have more pressing concerns." He kept planting kisses on his neck, hitting all his weak spots. Ianto closed his eyes with a little sight and Jack knew he had won.

"That is actually pretty rude. I am making those especially for you, you know, since you are American...-

Yep, he was definitely too cute for Jack to do something about it. So he decided to just keep on kissing him in every place he could reach.

Finally, Ianto slowly tilted his head a bit so that their lips could meet for a slow, long kiss. When they parted, he finally turned around and put his arms around Jack's neck.

"Hi!" Jack put up his most charming smile.

"Hi!" Ianto replied with that deep voice that just drove Jack insane, especially at night.

Jack looked into those big, giant, perfectly green eyes that were so full of desire and something else...something deeper that Jack, once again, pretended not to recognize. That look made Jack feel a little bit guilty again.

Maybe Ianto deserved better than him. He deserved someone emotionally stable and just...normal. But judging by the way Ianto started kissing him in that moment, for some inexplicable reason *he* was the one he wanted. Jack was very grateful for that and he promised himself that one day he would have the courage to tell him how much he meant to him, how this was more than sex for him too. For now, he just let go of his thoughts and kissed him back, pushing him slowly over the counter.

But something wasn't quite right and Jack had to pull back.

"What?" Ianto looked confused and deeply disappointed.

"Something is burning."

"Oh, the pancakes!"

Ianto untangled himself from Jack and started a mission to rescue their poor breakfast. He looked so upset about his failing attempt at a romantic meal that Jack couldn't help himself and started laughing so hard he got tears in his eyes.

"I am glad you find my struggling funny. You could actually help me, you know?" Ianto finally gave up and threw the burned mess away, pouting like a child.

"I am sorry. I am so sorry. You just look very cute right now."

Ianto smiled and moved back closer to Jack.

"It's all your fault. You were...distracting." Ianto had that look on his face that could literally make Jack do everything. Good thing he didn't really know that yet. Jack was hoping to keep that particular a secret.

"Are you complaining?" He put his arms around Ianto once again, and looked at him dead in the eyes, sharing the same wanting and passion.

"No, not really." Ianto let his fingers go through Jack's beautiful hair and slowly pulled him in for another kiss

"I like this."

"What?" Jack asked, his hands moving along Ianto's body.

"Just...this. Just being here with you...laughing about burned pancakes. it feels like..."

"It feels like home" is what Ianto thought, but he couldn't really say that. He didn't want to scare Jack away. He knew he wasn't his boyfriend or anything like that. He knew it was more complicated, and he had known it since the moment he fell in love with the mysterious Captain Jack Harkness.

Yes, he was deeply in love with him, he had stopped pretending otherwise a long ago, and he knew it definitely wasn't the easiest thing in the world. Jack's past and future were constantly hanging over their relationship and Ianto had no illusion they could ever be an actual couple.

Sometimes it was so frustrating, and he felt like an idiot, and kinda insecure, especially when Jack was openly flirting with people right in front of him, like he wasn't even there. But he knew that was who Jack was, and he took a lot of comfort in the fact that *he* was the one who got to get in his bed at night. That must have meant something, right? Also, since Jack came back from wherever he had gone, things had definitely changed. This thing they had became more real, Jack started treating him more like a boyfriend than a friend with benefits...or a sidekick. He definitely didn't like to think as himself like the Robin to Jack's Batman. It was not as funny as Jack thought it was every time he made that joke.

In the end, as messy and confusing as this all was, Ianto was gonna take it, cause being with Jack was worth it, and not just for the sex. Jack was the most impressive, beautiful, amazing person he had ever met, and he felt so lucky to be...whatever it is he was to him. And Jack was making him more confident too. He was working on his insecurity cause if someone like Jack liked him, there must be at least a little something good in him, right?

Deep down, Ianto knew what they had was real for Jack too. He could see it in his eyes. He believed it.

"It feels...normal" is what Ianto actually ended up saying.

Jack got serious for a second and he kissed Ianto on the forehead

"Yeah, it does, doesn't it?" And he just held him in his arms for a bit.

For a moment that morning, in Ianto's little kitchen, they both forgot about Torchwood, aliens and monsters. They forgot about immortality and dangers and past and future. It all felt normal. It just felt like home. And home was just what Jack had always looked for.


End file.
